Patent drawing
Encyclopedia
A patent application
or patent
may contain drawings
, also called patent drawings, illustrating the invention, some of its embodiments (which are particular implementations or methods of carrying out the invention), or the prior art
. The drawings may be required by the law to be in a particular form, and the requirements may vary depending on the jurisdiction.
, provides that a European patent application shall contain any drawings referred to in the description or the claims. Drawings are therefore optional. specifies the form in which the drawings must be executed.
The European search report is drawn up in respect of a European patent application on the basis of the claim
s, with due regard to the description and any drawings. In addition, the extent of the protection conferred by a European patent or a European patent application is determined by the claims, with the description and drawings being used to interpret the claims.
, notably provides that the drawings are required when they are necessary for the understanding of the invention. specifies special physical requirements for drawings in an international application.
In the United States
, the applicant for a patent is required by law to furnish a drawing of the invention whenever the nature of the case requires a drawing to understand the invention. This drawing must be filed with the application. This includes practically all inventions except compositions of matter or processes, but a drawing may also be useful in the case of many processes.
The drawing must show every feature of the invention specified in the claim
s, and is required by the U.S. patent office
rules to be in a particular form. The United States Patent and Trademark Office
(USPTO) specifies the size of the sheet on which the drawing is made, the type of paper, the margins, and other details relating to the making of the drawing. The reason for specifying the standards in detail is that the drawings are printed and published in a uniform style when the patent issues, and the drawings must also be such that they can be readily understood by persons using the patent descriptions.
No names or other identification are permitted within the “sight” of the drawing, and applicants are expected to use the space above and between the hole locations to identify each sheet of drawings. This identification may consist of the attorney’s name and docket number or the inventor’s name and application number and may include the sheet number and the total number of sheets filed (for example, “sheet 2 of 4”). The following rule, reproduced from title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations, relates to the standards for drawings:
From 1790 to 1880 in the US, patent model
s were required. A patent model was a scratch-built miniature model
no larger than 12" by 12" by 12", approximately 30 cm by 30 cm by 30 cm, that showed how an invention works. Some inventors still willingly submitted models at the turn of the twentieth century. In some cases, an inventor may still want to present a "working model" as an evidence to prove actual reduction to practice
in an interference proceeding
. In some jurisdictions patent models stayed an aid to demonstrate the operation of the invention. In applications involving genetics
, samples of genetic material or DNA sequences may be required.
The United States patent law was revised in 1793. It stated that the Commissioner of the USPTO could ask for additional information, drawings, or diagrams if the description is not clear. By then, the rate of patent grants had grown to about 20 per year and the time burden on the Secretary of State was considered to be too burdensome. Patent applications were no longer examined. Patents were granted simply by submitting a written description of an invention, a model of the invention, if appropriate, and paying a fee of $30 then, and now $1000 in 2006 US dollars.
or color. Black and white drawings are normally required. On rare occasions, color drawings may be necessary as the only practical medium by which to disclose the subject matter sought to be patented in a utility or design patent application or the subject matter of a statutory invention registration.
Black and white photograph
s are not ordinarily permitted in utility and design patent applications, unless this is the only practicable medium for illustrating the claimed invention. For example, photographs of electrophoresis gels, blots, autoradiographs, cell cultures, histological tissue cross sections, animals, plants, in vivo imaging, etc. Color photographs can be accepted in utility and design patent applications if the conditions for accepting color drawings and black and white photographs have been satisfied.
The patent drawing can further contain a numbering of sheets of drawings, numbering of views, copyright
notice, security markings, corrections (durable and permanent), no holes, and a type of drawing indication.
Patent application
A patent application is a request pending at a patent office for the grant of a patent for the invention described and claimed by that application. An application consists of a description of the invention , together with official forms and correspondence relating to the application...
or patent
Patent
A patent is a form of intellectual property. It consists of a set of exclusive rights granted by a sovereign state to an inventor or their assignee for a limited period of time in exchange for the public disclosure of an invention....
may contain drawings
Technical drawing
Technical drawing, also known as drafting or draughting, is the act and discipline of composing plans that visually communicate how something functions or has to be constructed.Drafting is the language of industry....
, also called patent drawings, illustrating the invention, some of its embodiments (which are particular implementations or methods of carrying out the invention), or the prior art
Prior art
Prior art , in most systems of patent law, constitutes all information that has been made available to the public in any form before a given date that might be relevant to a patent's claims of originality...
. The drawings may be required by the law to be in a particular form, and the requirements may vary depending on the jurisdiction.
Europe
Under the European Patent ConventionEuropean Patent Convention
The Convention on the Grant of European Patents of 5 October 1973, commonly known as the European Patent Convention , is a multilateral treaty instituting the European Patent Organisation and providing an autonomous legal system according to which European patents are granted...
, provides that a European patent application shall contain any drawings referred to in the description or the claims. Drawings are therefore optional. specifies the form in which the drawings must be executed.
The European search report is drawn up in respect of a European patent application on the basis of the claim
Claims under the European Patent Convention
Article 84 of the European Patent Convention defines the function of the claims under the European Patent Convention, the function being to define the matter, i.e. the invention, for which patent protection is sought. This legal provision also imposes that the claims must be clear, concise as well...
s, with due regard to the description and any drawings. In addition, the extent of the protection conferred by a European patent or a European patent application is determined by the claims, with the description and drawings being used to interpret the claims.
Patent Cooperation Treaty
Under the Patent Cooperation TreatyPatent Cooperation Treaty
The Patent Cooperation Treaty is an international patent law treaty, concluded in 1970. It provides a unified procedure for filing patent applications to protect inventions in each of its contracting states...
, notably provides that the drawings are required when they are necessary for the understanding of the invention. specifies special physical requirements for drawings in an international application.
United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, the applicant for a patent is required by law to furnish a drawing of the invention whenever the nature of the case requires a drawing to understand the invention. This drawing must be filed with the application. This includes practically all inventions except compositions of matter or processes, but a drawing may also be useful in the case of many processes.
The drawing must show every feature of the invention specified in the claim
Claim (patent)
Patent claims are the part of a patent or patent application that defines the scope of protection granted by the patent. The claims define, in technical terms, the extent of the protection conferred by a patent, or the protection sought in a patent application...
s, and is required by the U.S. patent office
Patent office
A patent office is a governmental or intergovernmental organization which controls the issue of patents. In other words, "patent offices are government bodies that may grant a patent or reject the patent application based on whether or not the application fulfils the requirements for...
rules to be in a particular form. The United States Patent and Trademark Office
United States Patent and Trademark Office
The United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...
(USPTO) specifies the size of the sheet on which the drawing is made, the type of paper, the margins, and other details relating to the making of the drawing. The reason for specifying the standards in detail is that the drawings are printed and published in a uniform style when the patent issues, and the drawings must also be such that they can be readily understood by persons using the patent descriptions.
No names or other identification are permitted within the “sight” of the drawing, and applicants are expected to use the space above and between the hole locations to identify each sheet of drawings. This identification may consist of the attorney’s name and docket number or the inventor’s name and application number and may include the sheet number and the total number of sheets filed (for example, “sheet 2 of 4”). The following rule, reproduced from title 37 of the Code of Federal Regulations, relates to the standards for drawings:
History
Patent model
A patent model was a scratch-built miniature model no larger than 12" by 12" by 12" that showed how an invention works...
s were required. A patent model was a scratch-built miniature model
Scale model
A scale model is a physical model, a representation or copy of an object that is larger or smaller than the actual size of the object, which seeks to maintain the relative proportions of the physical size of the original object. Very often the scale model is used as a guide to making the object in...
no larger than 12" by 12" by 12", approximately 30 cm by 30 cm by 30 cm, that showed how an invention works. Some inventors still willingly submitted models at the turn of the twentieth century. In some cases, an inventor may still want to present a "working model" as an evidence to prove actual reduction to practice
Reduction to practice
In United States patent law, the reduction to practice is a concept meaning the embodiment of the concept of an invention. The date of this embodiment is critical to the determination of priority between inventors in an interference proceeding....
in an interference proceeding
Interference proceeding
An interference proceeding, also known as priority contest, is an inter partes proceeding to determine the priority issues of multiple patent applications. It is a unique procedure in the patent law of the United States. Unlike in most other countries which have adopted the first-to-file system,...
. In some jurisdictions patent models stayed an aid to demonstrate the operation of the invention. In applications involving genetics
Genetics
Genetics , a discipline of biology, is the science of genes, heredity, and variation in living organisms....
, samples of genetic material or DNA sequences may be required.
The United States patent law was revised in 1793. It stated that the Commissioner of the USPTO could ask for additional information, drawings, or diagrams if the description is not clear. By then, the rate of patent grants had grown to about 20 per year and the time burden on the Secretary of State was considered to be too burdensome. Patent applications were no longer examined. Patents were granted simply by submitting a written description of an invention, a model of the invention, if appropriate, and paying a fee of $30 then, and now $1000 in 2006 US dollars.
Drawings and photographs
In utility and design patent applications, drawings can be in black inkInk
Ink is a liquid or paste that contains pigments and/or dyes and is used to color a surface to produce an image, text, or design. Ink is used for drawing and/or writing with a pen, brush, or quill...
or color. Black and white drawings are normally required. On rare occasions, color drawings may be necessary as the only practical medium by which to disclose the subject matter sought to be patented in a utility or design patent application or the subject matter of a statutory invention registration.
Black and white photograph
Photograph
A photograph is an image created by light falling on a light-sensitive surface, usually photographic film or an electronic imager such as a CCD or a CMOS chip. Most photographs are created using a camera, which uses a lens to focus the scene's visible wavelengths of light into a reproduction of...
s are not ordinarily permitted in utility and design patent applications, unless this is the only practicable medium for illustrating the claimed invention. For example, photographs of electrophoresis gels, blots, autoradiographs, cell cultures, histological tissue cross sections, animals, plants, in vivo imaging, etc. Color photographs can be accepted in utility and design patent applications if the conditions for accepting color drawings and black and white photographs have been satisfied.
Features
Patent drawing features can contain the following features:- IdentificationIdentification (information)The function of identification is to map a known quantity to an unknown entity so as to make it known. The known quantity is called the identifier and the unknown entity is what needs identification. A basic requirement for identification is that the Id be unique. Ids may be scoped, that is, they...
of drawings: includes the title of the invention, inventor’s name, and application number.. etc. - Graphic forms in drawings. Chemical or mathematical formulae, tableTable (information)A table is a means of arranging data in rows and columns.Production % of goalNorth 4087102%South 4093110% The use of tables is pervasive throughout all communication, research and data analysis. Tables appear in print media, handwritten notes, computer software, architectural...
s, and waveformWaveformWaveform means the shape and form of a signal such as a wave moving in a physical medium or an abstract representation.In many cases the medium in which the wave is being propagated does not permit a direct visual image of the form. In these cases, the term 'waveform' refers to the shape of a graph...
s may be submitted as drawings and are subject to the same requirements as drawings. Each chemical or mathematical formula must be labeled as a separate figure, using brackets when necessary, to show that information is properly integrated. - Type of paperPaperPaper is a thin material mainly used for writing upon, printing upon, drawing or for packaging. It is produced by pressing together moist fibers, typically cellulose pulp derived from wood, rags or grasses, and drying them into flexible sheets....
: generally flexible, strong, white, smooth, non-shiny, and durable. - Size of paperPaper sizeMany paper size standards conventions have existed at different times and in different countries. Today there is one widespread international ISO standard and a localised standard used in North America . The paper sizes affect writing paper, stationery, cards, and some printed documents...
: Must be the same size DIN size A4, (8 1/2 by 11 inches). - Some kind of MarginMargin (typography)In typography, a margin is the space that surrounds the content of a page. The margin helps to define where a line of text begins and ends. When a page is justified the text is spread out to be flush with the left and right margins...
standard. - ViewViewA view is what can be seen in a range of vision. View may also be used as a synonym of point of view in the first sense. View may also be used figuratively or with special significance—for example, to imply a scenic outlook or significant vantage point:...
s. The drawing must contain as many views as necessary to show the invention. The views may be plan, elevation, section, or perspective views. - Arrangement of views: All views on the same sheet in the same direction.
- Front page view
- ScaleScale (ratio)The scale ratio of some sort of model which represents an original proportionally is the ratio of a linear dimension of the model to the same dimension of the original. Examples include a 3-dimensional scale model of a building or the scale drawings of the elevations or plans of a building. In such...
: large enough to show the mechanism - ShadingShadingShading refers to depicting depth perception in 3D models or illustrations by varying levels of darkness.-Drawing:Shading is a process used in drawing for depicting levels of darkness on paper by applying media more densely or with a darker shade for darker areas, and less densely or with a lighter...
: aids in understanding the invention used to indicate the surface or shape of spherical, cylindrical, and conical elements of an object. - SymbolSymbolA symbol is something which represents an idea, a physical entity or a process but is distinct from it. The purpose of a symbol is to communicate meaning. For example, a red octagon may be a symbol for "STOP". On a map, a picture of a tent might represent a campsite. Numerals are symbols for...
s: Graphical drawing symbols may be used for conventional elements when appropriate. - LegendLegendA legend is a narrative of human actions that are perceived both by teller and listeners to take place within human history and to possess certain qualities that give the tale verisimilitude...
s: should contain as few words as possible. - Numbers, letters, and reference characters.
- Lead lines: between the reference characters and the details referred to, and
- ArrowArrowAn arrow is a shafted projectile that is shot with a bow. It predates recorded history and is common to most cultures.An arrow usually consists of a shaft with an arrowhead attached to the front end, with fletchings and a nock at the other.- History:...
s: at the ends of lines, provided that their meaning is cleared. - International drawing formats: Format requirements differ by country where the patent is being filed. Check local patent offices for format requirements.
The patent drawing can further contain a numbering of sheets of drawings, numbering of views, copyright
Copyright
Copyright is a legal concept, enacted by most governments, giving the creator of an original work exclusive rights to it, usually for a limited time...
notice, security markings, corrections (durable and permanent), no holes, and a type of drawing indication.
Views
The views in the drawing may be plan, elevation, section, or perspective views:- Exploded viewExploded viewAn exploded view drawing is a diagram, picture or technical drawing of an object, that shows the relationship or order of assembly of various parts....
s: views with the separated parts embraced by a bracket, to show the relationship or order of assembly of various parts are permissible. - Partial views: a view of a large machine or device in its entirety may be broken into partial views on a single sheet, or extended over several sheets if there is no loss in facility of understanding the view.
- Sectional views: The plane upon which a sectional view is taken should be indicated on the view from which the section is cut by a broken line.
- Alternate position: A moved position may be shown by a broken line superimposed upon a suitable view if this can be done without crowding; otherwise, a separate view must be used for this purpose, and
- Modified forms. Modified forms of construction must be shown in separate views.
See also
- List of patent legal concepts
- Patent mapPatent mapA patent map is a graphical model of patent visualisation. This practice "enables companies to identify the patents in a particular technology space, verify the characteristics of these patents, and .....
- Patent visualisationPatent visualisationPatent visualisation is an application of information visualisation. Patents number has been increasing , thus forcing companies to consider intellectual property as a part of their strategy....
- Provisional applicationProvisional applicationUnder United States patent law, a provisional application for patent is a legal document filed in the United States Patent and Trademark Office , that establishes an early filing date, but which does not mature into an issued patent unless the applicant files a regular patent application within one...
Further reading
- Norman Clarke (1998), Patent Drawing, Noside, ISBN 0953155730
- Jack Lo, David Pressman, Stephanie Harolde, Stephen Elias (1997). The Patent Drawing Book: How to Prepare Formal Drawings Required by the U. S. Patent and Trademark Office.
- Jack Lo, David Pressman (2007). How to Make Patent Drawings: A Patent It Yourself Companion.
- Harry Radzinsky (1945). Making Patent Drawings.
- Kendall J. Dood (1986). Patent drawings. United States National Archives and Records Administration.
External links
: Drawings- US General Information Concerning Patents at the United States Patent and Trademark OfficeUnited States Patent and Trademark OfficeThe United States Patent and Trademark Office is an agency in the United States Department of Commerce that issues patents to inventors and businesses for their inventions, and trademark registration for product and intellectual property identification.The USPTO is based in Alexandria, Virginia,...
(USPTO)